For fans of The Monkees, the group's Chicago Theatre concert Friday will be both bittersweet and intriguing. The late Davy Jones is gone, and the long-absent Michael Nesmith returns.

Jones, the heartthrob Englishman of the quartet, died of a heart attack in February at the age of 66. Nesmith, who has not performed with The Monkees since a brief run of European dates in 1997, will join Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork for the band's tour.

"The seeds of this were actually planted months before David's death," says Dolenz. "We thought we should go out and do 'Headquarters,' which was the first album that we'd managed to get control over musically. Michael was expressing interest, and so were Peter and Davy and I. Then the tragedy struck and David passed."

The three Monkees got together for a private memorial in Los Angeles, where they discussed the possibility of doing a memorial concert for Jones. The question became where to hold it. Los Angeles? New York? England, where the Jones had family? Along the way they returned to the concept they were discussing before Jones' death, and it became a 12-city tour.

"It did not become the 'Davy Jones Memorial Tour'; that just sounded a little bit creepy," says Dolenz. "However, there will be a tribute and homage, and I think all the fans will be very, very pleased."

Jones began his career as a child actor in British television and theater. When he auditioned for "The Monkees" TV series, he had already earned a Tony nomination as the Artful Dodger in the Broadway musical "Oliver!" Through the years Jones had been a staple of Monkees tours.

"We're all sad about Davy's passing," says Tork, calling from his home in Connecticut. "I've come to the conclusion that he was the most talented of the four of us: best pitch, best rhythm, best soul. He was the best actor among us. It's really sad to see a great talent like that go."

The current Monkees tour bills itself as a multimedia event, with music, films and photographs. Dolenz points out that the visual aspect is nothing new in the band's history.

"The Monkees have always done multimedia," he says. "In 1968 we brought a full-blown film projector on the road with us and showed 35 mm films during the show. That's been a tradition all along from the very early days. There were a lot of visuals in 2011, and there will be in 2012. And obviously there will be some footage of David. I don't want to give too much away. I can tell you there won't be a hologram."

"The Monkees" television series aired from 1966 to 1968 and introduced a generation of kids to the "Pre-Fab Four" of Dolenz, Jones, Nesmith and Tork. Although the Monkees sang their own vocals, their roles in the recording studio were limited in the beginning. Session musicians were used extensively on the tracks. A number of the group's biggest hits were penned by A-list pop writers of the day, including Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart ("Last Train to Clarksville"), John Stewart ("Daydream Believer"), Carole King and Gerry Goffin ("Pleasant Valley Sunday") and Neil Diamond ("I'm a Believer").

How does Dolenz feel now about the old criticism that The Monkees were an illegitimate group manufactured for television?

"It would be like 'Glee' getting criticized today because they're not a real glee club and the high school's not a real high school," he says. "'Glee' is a great television show about a glee club, but all the people in the show can sing, dance, act and play."

During the group's original 1960s run, the Monkees lobbied for artistic control over the recordings. The release of the 1967 album "Headquarters" marked the first record the group oversaw musically. It was a personal achievement for the band. Songs from "Headquarters" will be featured in the new tour.

"This is the 'Headquarters' celebration tour," says Tork. "It's the 45th anniversary of the release of that album that we personally revere because it was the album we made ourselves."

Nesmith, who was not available for an interview, has had a far-flung career as a singer, songwriter, producer and director, and has worked in film, television and video. In 1980 he became an heir to his mother's multimillion dollar Liquid Paper fortune.

Besides playing with The Monkees, Tork has pursued his love of blues music in his band, Peter Tork and the Shoe Suede Blues. On the personal front, he notes that he is happily engaged to be married. He also credits his long-term sobriety as central to his life.

"I've been granted release from a serious addiction, or at least from the involvement with that addiction, and remain out of its clutches," Tork says. "In other words, I don't drink anymore. And I've been able to stay away from a drink without fail for 31 years now. That to me is one of the great things in my life."

As for Dolenz, he's had an active post-Monkees career. He worked for more than a decade in England as a writer, director and producer for television and film. He's also been active in musical theater, including a turn in "Grease" and a several-year stint in Elton John and Tim Rice's "Aida." He recently released a solo album, "Remember."

For more than four decades, The Monkees have lived on in the public imagination.

"'The Monkees' was a television show about a rock 'n' roll group that wanted to be the Beatles," says Dolenz. "It's important to note that on the TV show (the characters) were never famous. It was the struggle for success. The Monkees were always looking for a job. I think that is one of the reasons it endeared itself to so many people around the world."